Washington: South Korea and the United States are contemplating an announcement at the upcoming summit regarding the initiation of discussions to potentially revise a bilateral nuclear energy pact. The move comes as Seoul seeks to alleviate restrictions, particularly those concerning spent fuel reprocessing.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Seoul and Washington have been aligning their strategies on this matter as President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump prepare for their inaugural face-to-face meeting at the White House on Monday. The summit is expected to address a variety of security and trade issues.

Should both parties agree, the two governments might incorporate into a joint summit document an agreement to commence discussions and research on amending the pact. Alternatively, the leaders might publicly acknowledge the agreement to formalize it.

The "123 Agreement," last amended in 2015, prohibits Seoul from reprocessing and uranium enrichment. However, it allowed South Korea to start exploring a new spent nuclear fuel recycling technology known as "pyroprocessing" and producing low-level enriched uranium with U.S. consent. Although the current agreement is valid until 2035, South Korea has persistently expressed a desire to modify it.

South Korea aims to secure uranium enrichment and reprocessing capabilities to complete its nuclear fuel cycle. These capabilities are perceived as essential for energy security, addressing environmental issues, and bolstering South Korea's status as a nuclear reactor exporter.

The U.S. has been cautious about lifting the pact's restrictions, primarily due to proliferation concerns, as a reprocessing facility can be used to extract plutonium for nuclear weapons. Unlike South Korea, Japan holds a reprocessing right under a bilateral agreement with the U.S.

Even with potential discussions on revising the pact, it remains unclear if the Trump administration would support the idea. Seoul's National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac recently emphasized that South Korea has been striving for a revision of the pact. "Our hope is that we will make progress (in the effort to revise the pact) through this summit," he stated to reporters.